Wafer slice base peeling system

ABSTRACT

The hot water is stored in the hot-water tank and kept at the predetermined temperature. The clamp base is provided in the hot water of the hot-water tank for receiving the substrate portion of the wafer and the lifter is arranged for moving the wafer from the upper part of the hot-water tank into the hot water. The clamper is placed at the upper of the clamp base and the substrate portion of the wafer is pushed to the clamp base fixedly and the pusher is arranged at the upper side of the clamp base in the vicinity of the clamper so as to push the slice base of the wafer, whereby the slice base is peeled. The peeling is performed in the hot water, therefore, the temperature of the wafer does not lower while peeling, so that the adhesive can be peeled easily.

This is a Division of application Ser. No. 08/835,637 filed Apr. 10,1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,344, which in turn is a division ofapplication Ser. No. 08/398,179 filed Mar. 2, 1995 now abandoned. Theentire discloser of the prior applications are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wafer slice base peeling system forpeeling a slice base from a wafer which is a silicon and the like to bea substrate of a semiconductor element.

2. Description of the Related Art

A wafer of a silicon and the like to be a substrate is manufactured in amanner that an ingot is sliced by a slicing machine and the like. Aslice base is attached to the ingot so as not to break a slicing endwhile slicing, and then the ingot is sliced together with the slicebase. Therefore, the shape of the wafer, which has been sliced, is shownin FIG. 4, and the slice base 10b is peeled off from the substrateportion 10a of the silicon and the like after slicing.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show the essential portions of the conventional waferslice base peeling system. FIG. 5 is a side view including a partialsection of said wafer slice base peeling system, FIG. 6 is a plain viewincluding a partial section of the wafer slice base peeling system andFIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of the arrows substantiallyalong the line 7--7 in FIG. 5. A wafer 10 is sent in from the left sideand sent out to the right side in FIG. 5. Incidentally, FIG. 5 shows astate that the wafer 10 is in the hot-water tank 11 and FIG. 7 shows astate that the wafer 10 is fixed on the clamp base 21 in the peelingpart 20.

The wafer slice base peeling system mainly comprises the hot-water tank11, the peeling part 20, the lifter part 30 and the conveying part 40.

Hot water 12 is stored in the hot-water tank 11 as shown in FIG. 5 andkept at a predetermined temperature by a heater, not shown. Referencenumeral 12a is a water surface of the hot water 12. The hot-water tank11 heats the wafer 10 so as to peel the adhesive of the slice baseeasily.

The peeling part 20 is arranged at the sending out side of the hot-watertank 11, and comprises the clamp base 21 for receiving the substrateportion 10a of the wafer 10, a clamper 25 for fixing the substrateportion 10a of the wafer 10 by pushing it to the clamp base 21, a guide23 for guiding the clamper 25 vertically (in FIG. 7, arranged at theback of the guide 26 and provided with the same shape as the guide 26),an air cylinder 24 for driving the clamper 25 vertically in FIG. 5, apusher 28 for pushing the slice base 10b so as to peel it, a guide 26for guiding the pusher 28 vertically, an air cylinder 27 for driving thepusher 28 vertically in FIGS. 5, 7, a base 22 for supporting the guide23, the air cylinder 24, the guide 26 and the air cylinder 27, a basket29 for storing the slice base 10b which has peeled off, and the like.And, the clamp base 21 is arranged at the upper side of the hot-watertank 11 apart from the water surface 12a of the hot water 12, theclamper 25 is placed just above the clamp base 21, and the pusher 28 ispositioned not to interfere with the clamp base 21.

The lifter part 30, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, comprises a guide 31fixed at the left side of the hot-water tank 11, a slider 32 provided soas to be movable vertically along the guide 31, an air cylinder 33 fordriving the slider 32 vertically, an arm 34 fixed to the slider 32,lifters 35 fixed to two portions of the arm 34, and the like. As shownin FIG. 7, a groove 35a is formed at the lifter 35 for inserting theperiphery of the wafer 10, and with this groove 35a, the wafer 10 isheld by the lifter 35. With this arrangement, the lifter 35 moves thewafer 10 from the upper side of the hot-water tank 11 into the hot water12 and performs as a conveying guide of the wafer 10 at the upper sideof the hot-water tank 11.

The conveying part 40, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, comprises a horizontalguide 41 fixed to the right side of the hot-water tank 11, a horizontalslider 42 provided so as to be movable horizontally along the horizontalguide 41, a feed screw 43 for driving a feed nut built in the slider 42,a pulley 44 for transmitting the rotation of a motor (not shown) to thefeed screw 43, a vertical guide 45 fixed to the horizontal slider 42, avertical slider 46 provided so as to be movable vertically along thevertical guide 45, an air cylinder 47 for driving the vertical slider 46vertically, an arm 48 fixed to the vertical slider 46, a conveying head49 which abuts against the edge of the wafer 10, and the like. With thisarrangement, the conveying part 40 is driven, whereby the conveying head49 abuts against the wafer 10 and the wafer 10 is conveyed from thehot-water tank 11 to the peeling part, further to the next step. Asdescribed above, the lifter 35 guides the wafer 10 while conveying. And,when the wafer is sent from the previous step, as shown by a two-dotchain line in FIG. 5, the conveying head 49 moves upward so as not tointerfere with the wafer 10.

Next, an explanation will be given of the method for peeling the slicebase 10b from the wafer 10 with the wafer slice base peeling system asdescribed above. As shown with the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5, whenthe lifter 35 and the conveying head 49 rise to the limits, the wafer 10is sent into the groove 35a of the lifter 35 which is arranged at theupper side of the hot-water tank 11 from the previous step by theconveying system of the previous step. When the wafer 10 is sent in, thelifter 35 goes down to move the wafer 10 into the hot water 12. When thewafer 10 reaches at the predetermined temperature in the hot water 12,the lifter 35 rises so as to return the wafer 10 to the position forsending in. Next, the conveying head 49 goes down and moves to thesending out side, whereby the wafer 10 is conveyed to the peeling part20. In the peeling part 20, the clamper 25 pushes the substrate portion10a to the clamp base 21 fixedly, and then the pusher 28 pushes theslice base 10b so as to peel off the slice base 10b. After peeling, theclamper 25 and the pusher 28 rise, and then the conveying head 49 movesto the sending out side again and sends out the wafer 10 to the nextstep. And, the slice base 10b, which has been peeled off, falls and isstored in the basket 29.

However, in the conventional method, though the slice base 10b is easilypeeled off with the hot water 12, the peeling step is performed in theatmosphere in which the temperature is lower than that of the hot water12, therefore, the temperature of the adhesive for the slice base 10bbecomes lower since the air is contact with the clamp base 21, theclamper 25 and the like. As a result, the adhesive re-hardens so thatthe slice base 10b becomes hard to peel off, therefore, there is aproblem in that the wafer 10 can easily break while it is being peeledoff.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed to eliminate theabove-described problems and has as its aim the provision of a waferslice base peeling system wherein there is no possibility that the wafer10 will be broken while the slice base 10b is peeled off from the wafer10.

To achieve the above-described object, a wafer slice base peeling systemcomprising: a fixing member for fixing a substrate portion of a wafer; aheater for heating at least an adhesive portion between said substrateportion of said wafer, which is fixed by said fixing member, and a slicebase; and, a pushing member for pushing a slice base of said wafer, ofwhich said substrate portion is fixed by said fitting member, and forpeeling said slice base from said substrate portion.

To achieve the above-described object, a wafer slice base peeling systemcomprising: a how water tank with hot water stored therein; a liftermember for holding a wafer, and for moving said wafer from an upper sideof said hot water tank into said hot water tank so as to dip it in saidhot water; a fixing member for fixing a substrate portion of said waferdipped in said hot water of said hot water tank; and, a pushing memberfor pushing a slice base of said wafer, of which said substrate portionis fixed by said fitting member, and for peeling said slice base fromsaid substrate portion.

And, to achieve the above-described object, a wafer slice base peelingsystem comprising: a clamp base for receiving a substrate portion of awafer; a heater built in said clamp base for generating heat and heatingsaid wafer; a clamper for fixing said substrate portion to said clampbase; and, a pusher arranged near said clamper at a side of a slicebase, which is adhered to said substrate portion of said wafer, forpushing said slice base.

Further, to achieve the above-described object, a wafer slice basepeeling system comprising: a clamp base for receiving a substrateportion of a wafer; a clamper for fixing said substrate portion to saidclamp base; a pusher arranged near said clamper at a side of a slicebase, which is adhered to said substrate portion of said wafer, forpushing said slice base; a nozzle placed between said clamper and saidpusher and provided with a blow-off opening to a boundary portionbetween said substrate portion and said slice base; and, hot airgenerating means connected with said nozzle for generating hot air at apredetermined temperature.

Moreover, to achieve the above-described object, a wafer slice basepeeling system comprising: a clamp base for receiving a substrateportion of a wafer; a clamper for fixing said substrate portion to saidclamp base; a pusher arranged near said clamper for pushing a slice baseadhered to said substrate portion of said wafer; a slice base providedat a side of said slice base near said clamp base opposite to saidpusher so as to be oscillatable in a direction of a thickness of saidwafer; and, a heater built in said slice base receiving plate forgenerating heat at a predetermined temperature and heating said wafer;wherein an upper surface of said slice base receiving plate correspondsto an upper surface of said clamp base while heating said wafer withsaid heater, and said slice base receiving plate is apart from saidslice base while peeling said slice base.

According to the present invention, the substrate portion of the waferis fixed by the fixing member, and then at least the adhesive portionbetween the substrate porion of the wafer and the slice base is heatedby the heater. When the adhesive between the substrate portion and slicebase is softened, the slice base is pushed by the pushing member,whereby the slice base is peeled off from the substrate portion.

According to the present invention, the wafer is dipped in the hot waterby the lifter member, and the substrate portion of the wafer is fixed bythe fixing member. When the wafer reaches at the predeterminedtemperature in the hot water, the pushing member starts to push theslice base whereby the slice base is peeled off from the substrateportion. In this invention, the peeling step is performed in the hotwater tank, therefore, the temperature of the wafer is not lowered andthe adhesive can be peeled off easily, so that the wafer can be keptfrom breaking while peeling.

According to the present invention, the clamper pushes and fixes thesubstrate portion to the clamp base which is heated and kept at thepredetermined temperature by the built-in heater. When the substrateportion is contact with the heated clamp base for a predetermined time,the adhesive for bonding the substrate portion and the slice base issoftened, and the pusher pushes the slice base so as to peel the slicebase from the entire substrate portion.

In this case, the clamp base is formed only in the vicinity of the slicebase, however, the clamp base may be formed to cover the substrateportion.

According to the present invention, the clamper pushes and fixes thesubstrate portion to the clamp base, and the hot air at thepredetermined temperature is blown from the blow-off opening of thenozzle connected with the hot air generating means so as to heat theboundary portion between the substrate portion and the slice base. Afterbeing heated for a predetermined time, the adhesive for bonding thesubstrate portion and the slice base softens, so that the pusher pushesthe slice base and peels the slice base from the substrate portion.

And, according to the present invention, when the upper surface of theslice base receiving plate and that of the clamp base are in the samesurface, the clamper pushes and fixes the substrate portion to the clampbase, and then the pusher pushes the slice base to the slice basereceiving plate. The slice base receiving plate is heated and kept atthe predetermined temperature by the built-in heater, and when the slicebase is contact with the heated slice base receiving plate for thepredetermined time, the adhesive for bonding the substrate portion andthe slice base becomes soft. The slice base receiving plate contactswith the slice base for the predetermined time, and then the slice basereceiving plate moves apart from the slice base and the pusher pushesthe slice base so as to peel the slice base from the substrate portion.

In all these inventions, the peeling is performed while heating thewafer, so that the temperature of the wafer does not lower during thepeeling and the adhesive for bonding the substrate portion and the slicebase can be peeled off easily. Therefore, the wafer is kept frombreaking while peeling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The exact nature of this invention, as well as other aims and advantagesthereof, will be readily apparent from consideration of the followingspecification relating to the accompanied drawings, in which likereference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout thefigures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view including a partial section of a wafer slice basepeeling system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plain view including a partial section of the wafer slicebase peeling system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of the arrows substantiallyalong the line 3--3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an apparent shape of the wafer;

FIG. 5 is a side view including a partial section of the conventionalwafer slice base peeling system and showing a state that a wafer is in ahot-water tank;

FIG. 6 is a plain view including a partial section of the wafer slicebase peeling system shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of the arrows substantiallyalong the line 7--7 in FIG. 5 and showing a state that a wafer is fixedon a clamp base in a peeling part;

FIG. 8 is a plain view showing an essential portion of the secondembodiment of the wafer slice base peeling system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9--9 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view taken from an arrow 10 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 a plain view showing an essential portion of the thirdembodiment of the wafer slice base peeling system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 12--12 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken on the line 13--13 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 a plain view showing an essential portion of the fourthembodiment of the wafer slice base peeling system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken on the line 15--15 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a view taken from an arrow 16 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a view taken from an arrow 17 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a plain view showing an essential portion of the fourthembodiment according to the present invention; and,

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken on the line 19--19 in FIG. 18.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A detailed description will hereafter be given of the preferredembodiment of a wafer slice base peeling system according to the presentinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show essential portions in the embodiment of the waferslice base peeling system according to the present invention. FIG. 1 isa side view including a partial section of said wafer slice base peelingsystem, FIG. 2 is a plain view including a partial section of the waferslice base peeling system shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a view taken inthe direction of the arrows substantially along the line 3--3 in FIG. 1,and FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show a state that a wafer 110 is fixed on a clampbase 121. And, the wafer 110 is sent in from the left side and out tothe right side.

The wafer slice base peeling system according to the present inventioncomprises a hot-water tank 110, a peeling part 120, a lifter part 130and a conveying part 140.

Hot water 112 is stored in the hot-water tank 111 and is kept at apredetermined temperature, in which an adhesive for a slice base 110bsoftens, by a heater 115 provided in the hot-water tank 111. Referencenumeral 112a is a water surface of the hot water 112.

The present invention is characterized by the position of the peelingpart 120 and there are differences between this embodiment and theconventional one. The peeling part 120 is arranged in the hot-water tank111, a clamp base 121 for receiving a substrate portion 110a of thewafer 110 is placed in the hot water 112 and the upper surface of theclamp base 121 is positioned below the water surface 112a of the hotwater 112. At the upper side of the clamp base 121, there are a clamper125 for pushing and fixing the substrate portion 10a of the wafer 110 tothe clamp base 121, a guide 123 for guiding the clamper 125 verticallythrough an axis 125a (arranged at the back of a guide 126 and having thesame shape as the guide 26), an air cylinder 124 for driving the clamper125 vertically, a pusher 128 for pushing and peeling the slice base110b, a guide 126 for guiding the pusher 128 vertically through an axis128a, an air cylinder 127 for driving the pusher 128 vertically, a base122 for supporting the guide 123, the air cylinder 124, the guide 126and the air cylinder 127, a basket for storing the slice base 110b whichhas peeled off, and the like. In this case, the clamper 125 ispositioned just above the clamp base 112, and the pusher 128 is arrangedso as not to interfere with the clamp base 121. And, the basket 129 isplaced in the hot-water tank 111.

The lifter part 130, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 comprises a guide 131fixed to the left side of the hot-water tank 111, a slider 132 providedso as to be movable vertically along the guide 131, an air cylinder 133for driving the slider 132 vertically, an arm 134 fixed to the slider132, lifters 135 fixed to two portions of the arm 134, and the like. Asshown in FIG. 3, a groove 135a is formed at the lifter 135 for insertingthe periphery of the wafer 110, and with this groove 135a, the wafer 110is held by the lifter 135. With this arrangement, the lifter 135 movesthe wafer 110 from the upper side of the hot-water tank 111 into the hotwater 112 and performs as a conveying guide of the wafer 110 at theupper side of the hot-water tank 111.

The conveying part 140 merely conveys the wafer 110 from the upperposition of the hot-water tank 111 to the next step. The conveying part140, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises a horizontal guide 141 fixedto the right side of the hot-water tank 111, a horizontal slider 142provided so as to be movable horizontally along the horizontal guide141, a feed screw 143 for driving a feed nut built in the horizontalslider 142, a pulley 144 for transmitting the rotation of a motor (notshown) to the feed screw 143, a vertical slider 145 fixed to thehorizontal slider 142, a vertical slider 146 provided so as to bemovable vertically along the vertical guide 145, an air cylinder 147 fordriving the vertical slider 146 vertically, an arm 148 fixed to thevertical slider 146, a conveying head 149 fixed to the arm 148 forabutting against the edge of the wafer 110, and the like. The conveyinghead 149 abuts against the wafer 110 by driving the conveying part 140,and conveys the wafer 110 from the upper position of the hot-water tank111 to the next step. And, when the wafer 110 is sent from the previousstep, the conveying head 148 moves upward so as not to interfere withthe wafer 110, as shown with the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1.

Next, an explanation will be given of the method of peeling the slicebase 110b from the wafer 110 in the wafer slice base peeling systemstructured as described above. When the lifter 135 and the conveyinghead 149 rise to the limits, the wafer 110 is conveyed into the groove135a of the lifter 135, which is positioned at the upper of thehot-water tank 111, from the previous step with the conveying system inthe previous step. When the wafer 110 is sent in, the lifer 135 goesdown so as to move the wafer 110 into the hot water 112 and the clamper125 pushes the substrate portion 110a to the clamp base 121 fixedly.When the wafer 110 reaches to the predetermined temperature, the pusher128 goes down and pushes the slice base 110b so as peel the slice base110b. After peeling, the clamper 125 and the pusher 128 rise, and thenthe lifter 135 goes up so as to return the wafer 110 to the position forsending in. Next, the conveying head 149 goes down and moves to thesending out side, shown by an arrow A, and the wafer 110 is conveyed tothe next step. And, the slice base 110b, which has been peeled, fallsand is stored in the basket 129.

Further, in the conveying part 140, an air cylinder or the like may beused for driving horizontally in addition to this embodiment. And, inthe wafer slice base peeling system according to the present invention,since the wafer 110 is conveyed only from the upper position of thehot-water tank 111 to the next step, any method of conveying may beacceptable, therefore, a conveying system for common use of the previousstep may be used, or the wafer 110 may be sent in and out from thelifter 135 manually.

As described above, according to the wafer slice base peeling system ofthe present invention, the wafer 110 moves into the hot water 112 by thelifter 135, and the clamper 125 pushes the substrate portion 110a to theclamp base 121 fixedly. When the wafer 110 reaches at the predeterminedtemperature in the hot water 112, the pusher 128 goes down and pushesthe slice base 110b, whereby the slice base 110b is peeled. The peelingis performed in the hot water 112, therefore, the temperature of thewafer 110 is not lowered so that the adhesive can be peeled easily.

Therefore, in the wafer slice base peeling system according to thepresent invention, the wafer 100 can be kept from breaking whilepeeling.

And, the wafer 100 is conveyed only from the upper position of thehot-water tank 111 to the next step, so that a conveyance system can bemanufactured at a lower cost.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 show the essential portions of the second embodimentof the wafer slice base peeling system according to the presentinvention. FIG. 8 is a plain view (the upper part is a partiallysectional view), FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9--9 inFIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a view taken from an arrow 10 in FIG. 8; a wafer110 is sent in from the left side and sent out to the right side in FIG.8. FIGS. 8, 9, 10 show a state in that the wafer 110 is fixed beforepeeling off from a slice base 110b.

In FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, a clamp base 213 is fixed to an upper surface of alower plate 211a of a portal base 211 through a heat insulating plate211, and a heater 211 for generating heat at a predetermined temperatureis built in the clamp base 213. The clamp base 213 at the side of theslice base 110b has the same shape as the substrate portion 110a (anarc), the width thereof is slightly larger than that of the slice base110b. And, two air cylinders 215b, 215b are attached to the lowersurface of the upper plate 211b at the upper side of the clamp base 213,and each a clamper 216 is attached to a piston 215a of the air cylinder215. Further, two air cylinders 217, 217 are fixed to the lower surfaceof the upper plate 211b at the side of the slice base 110b in thevicinity of the air cylinder 215, and a pusher 218 is attached to thepiston 217a of each air cylinder 217. A basket is placed at the lowerside of the clamp base 213.

Next, an explanation will be given of the operation in that the slicebase 110b is peeled off from the substrate portion. 110a with the waferslice base peeling system as described above.

When the wafer 110, which has been washed after slicing, is sent intothe predetermined position of the clamp base 213 with conveying meansnot shown, the clamper lowers, pushes and fixes the substrate portion110a to the clamp base 213. The clamper 216 fixes the substrate portion110a to the clamp base 213 and the predetermined time passes, and thenthe pusher 218 pushes slice base 110b so as to peel the slice base 110bfrom the substrate portion 110a. The slice base 110b, which has beenpeeled off, falls and is stored in the basket 219.

In this case, a heater 214 is built in the clamp base for keeping apredetermined temperature (about 100° C.), and when the substrateportion 110a is contact with the clamp base 213 for a predeterminedtime, the adhesive for bonding the substrate portion 110a with the slicebase 110b becomes high temperature and softens, so that it can be peeledoff easily.

Further, in this case, the clamp base 213 may be arranged only in thevicinity of the slice base 110b, or, the clamp base 213 may be shapedfor including the entire substrate portion 110a so as to heat the entiresubstrate portion 110a.

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 show the essential portions of the third embodimentof the wafer slice base peeling system according to the presentinvention. FIG. 11 is a plain view (the upper part is a partiallysectional view), FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 12--12 inFIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken on the line 13--13 inFIG. 11 (partially detailed view); a wafer 110 is sent in from the leftside and sent out to the right side in FIG. 11. FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 showa state in that the wafer 110 is fixed before peeling off from a slicebase 110b.

In FIGS. 11, 12 and 13, a clamp base 222 is fixed to an upper surface ofa lower plate 211a of a portal base 211. The clamp base 222 at the sideof the slice base 110b has the same shape as the substrate portion 110a(an arc), the width thereof is slightly larger than that of the slicebase 110b. And, two air cylinders 223 and 223 are attached to the lowersurface of the upper plate 211b at the upper side of the clamp base 222,and a clamper 224 is attached to each piston 223a of the air cylinder223. Further, two air cylinders 225, 225 are fixed to the lower surfaceof the upper plate 221b at the side of the slice base 110b in thevicinity of the air cylinder 225, and a pusher 226 is attached to eachpiston 225a of the air cylinder 225. Further, a nozzle 228 is providedbetween the clamper 224 and the pusher 226, and a blow-off opening 228aof the nozzle 228 is formed in the substantial same shape as theboundary shape (an arc) between the substrate portion 110a and the slicebase 110b. And, hot air generating means 227 for generating hot air at apredetermined temperature is connected with the nozzle 228. A basket 229is placed at the lower side of the clamp base 222.

Next, an explanation will be given of the operation in that the slicebase 110b is peeled off from the substrate portion 110a with the waferslice base peeling system as described above.

When the wafer 110, which has been washed after slicing, is sent intothe predetermined position of the clamp base 222 with conveying meansnot shown, the clamper 224 lowers, and pushes and fixes the substrateportion 110a to the clamp base 222. Next, hot air at a predeterminedtemperature is sent out from the blow-off opening 228a of the nozzle 228which is connected with the hot air generating means 227, and theboundary portion between the substrate portion 110a and the slice base110b is heated. When the predetermined time passes in this state, thepusher 226 pushes slice base 110b so as to peel the slice base 110b fromthe substrate portion 110a. The slice base 110b, which has peeled off,falls and is stored in the basket 219.

In this case, the hot air, which is sent out from the hot air generatingmeans 227 through the nozzle 228, is heated and kept at a predeterminedtemperature (about 100° C.), and when the hot air is sent for apredetermined time, the adhesive for bonding the. substrate portion 110awith the slice base 110b becomes high temperature and softens, so thatit can be peeled off easily.

FIGS. 14, 15, 16 and 17 show the essential portions of the forthembodiment of the wafer slice base peeling system according to thepresent invention. FIG. 14 is a plan view (the upper part is a partiallysectional view), FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken on the line 15--15 inFIG. 14, FIG. 16 is a view taken from an arrow 16 in FIG. 14, and FIG.17 is a view taken from an arrow 17 in FIG. 14; a wafer 110 is sent infrom the upper side and sent out to the lower side in FIG. 14. FIGS. 14,15, 16 and 17 show a state in that the wafer 110 is fixed before peelingoff from a slice base 110b.

In FIGS. 14, 15, 16 and 17, a clamp base 232 is fixed to an uppersurface of a lower plate 231a of a portal base 231. The clamp base 232at the side of the slice base 110b has the same shape as the substrateportion 110a (an arc), the width thereof is slightly larger than that ofthe slice base 110b. And, two air cylinders 233 and 233 are attached tothe lower surface of the upper plate 231b at the upper side of the clampbase 232, and each piston 233a of the air cylinder 233 is attached witha clamper 234.

Further, bearings 236 and 236 are arranged at longitudinal plates 231c,231c at both sides of the base 231, and a bracket 237 is supported bythe bearings 236, 236 so as to be oscillatable. An arm 242 is fixed tothe oscillating axis of the bracket 237 and is oscillated about 90° bythe air cylinder 244 which is supported by a holder 243. A slice basereceiving plate 240 is fixed to the bracket 237 through the heatinsulating plate 238, and the upper surface of the slice base receivingplate 240 (the contact surface of the slice base 110b) can oscillateonly to the same surface as the upper surface of the clamp base 232 (thecontact surface of the substrate portion 110a) by a stopper 239 providedat the bracket 237. A heater 241 is built in the slice base receivingplate 240 for heating to a predetermined temperature. The slice basereceiving plate 240 at the side of the substrate portion 110a has thesame shape as the substrate portion 110a (arc), and the width thereof isslightly larger than that of the slice base 110b.

And, two guides 245 and 245 are fixed to the lower surface of the upperplate 231b at the side of the slice base in the vicinity of the aircylinder 233, and the guides 245 and 245 are supported with theremovable vertically 246, 246 so as to be movable vertically and forceddownward by a compression spring 248. A claw 247 is placed at the upperside of the pusher 246.

A basket 249 is arranged below the clamp base 232.

An explanation will be given of the operation in that the slice base110b is peeled off from the substrate portion 110a with the wafer slicebase peeling system as described above.

When the upper surface of the slice base receiving plate 240 becomes thesame as that of the clamp base 232 (the stopper 239 is in contact withthe clamp base 232), and further when the wafer 110, which has beenwashed after slicing, is sent into the predetermined position of theclamp base 232 with conveying means not shown, the clamper 234 lowers,and pushes and fixes the substrate portion 110a to the clamp base 232.When the clamper 234 reaches to the upper end, the pusher 246 is raisedby the claw 247, and when the clamper 234 lowers, the pusher 246 isforced downward by the compression spring 248 to push the slice base110b to the slice base receiving plate 240.

When the substrate portion 110a is fitted to the clamp base 232 by theclamper 234 and the pusher 246 pushes the slice base 110b to the slicebase receiving plate for a predetermined time, the slice base receivingplate 240 moves apart from the slice base 110b by the air cylinder 244,so that the pusher 246 is forced more by the compression spring 248downward and pushes slice base 110b so as to peel the slice base 110bfrom the substrate portion 110a. The slice base 110b, which has peeledoff, falls and is stored in the basket 249.

In this case, a heater 241 is built in the slice base receiving plate240 so as to keep a predetermined temperature (about 100° C.), and whenthe substrate portion 110a is contact with the clamp base 213 for apredetermined time, the adhesive for bonding the substrate portion 110awith the slice base 110b becomes high temperature and softens, so thatit can be peeled off easily.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show the essential portions of the fifth embodiment ofthe wafer slice base peeling system according to the present invention.The fifth embodiment has the same heating method as the secondembodiment. The fifth embodiment differs in the positioning/conveyingdirection of the wafer 110 from the second embodiment. In the secondembodiment, the thickness direction of the wafer 110 is vertical and theconveying direction is horizontal, that is, the direction of the slicebase 110b, in the fifth embodiment, however, the thickness direction ofthe wafer 110 is horizontal and the conveying direction is vertical,that is, perpendicular to the slice base 110b. The fifth embodiment isthe same as the second embodiment in the whole structure. FIG. 18 is aplain view, and FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken on the line 19--19 inFIG. 18. FIG. 18 shows a state in that the wafer 110 is fixed beforepeeling off from a slice base 110b.

In FIGS. 18 and 19, a clamp base 253 is fixed to an internal surface ofa side plate 251a of an U-shaped base 251 through a heat insulatingplate 252, and a heater 253 is built in for heating at a predeterminedtemperature. The clamp base 253 at the side of the slice base 110b hasthe same shape as the substrate portion 110a (an arc), the width thereofis slightly larger than that of the slice base 110b. And, two aircylinders 223, 223 are attached to the internal surface of the sideplate 251b at the side of the clamp base 253, and a clamper 256 isattached to each piston 255a of the air cylinder 255. Further, two aircylinders 267, 267 are fixed to the internal surface of the side plate251b at the side of the slice base 110b in the vicinity of the aircylinder 225, and a pusher 258 is attached to each piston 257a of theair cylinder 257.

An explanation will be given of the operation in that the slice base110b is peeled off from the substrate portion 110a with the wafer slicebase peeling system as described above.

When the wafer 110, which has been washed after slicing, is sent intothe predetermined position of the clamp base 253 with conveying meansnot shown, the clamper 256 pushes and fixes the substrate portion 110ato the clamp base 253. When the clamper 256 fixes the substrate portion110a to the clamp base 253 for a predetermined time, the pusher 258pushes the slice base 110b so as to peel the slice base 110b from thesubstrate portion 110a. The slice base 110b, which has peeled off, fallsand is stored in a basket or the like, not shown.

In this case, just as in the second embodiment, a heater 254 is built inthe clamp base 253 for keeping a predetermined temperature (about 100°C.), and when the substrate portion 110a is in contact with the clampbase 253 for a predetermined time, the adhesive for bonding thesubstrate portion 110a with the slice base 110b reaches at a hightemperature and softens, so that it can be peeled off easily.

Further, in the fifth embodiment, the clamp base 253 is arranged only inthe vicinity of the slice base 110b, however, the clamp base 253 may beformed to cover the entire substrate portion 110a so as to heat theentire substrate portion 110a.

And, the present invention is not limited to the positioning/conveyingdirection of the wafer 110.

That is, in the second, third and forth embodiments, the explanation hasbeen given in the case that the wafer 110 is conveyed in the directionof the slice base 110b. However, the present invention should not belimited to this, the wafer 110 is conveyed in the directionperpendicular to this direction. In this case, the base 211, the base221 and the base 231 are formed in U-shapes such as in the fifthembodiment. Further, in the third and forth embodiments, the thicknessdirection of the wafer 110 is vertical and the wafer 110 is conveyedhorizontally, however, the present invention should not be limited tothis, in the fifth embodiment, the thickness direction of the wafer 110may be horizontal and the wafer 110 may be conveyed vertically. And,when the wafer 110 is conveyed vertically (including the fourthembodiment), the wafer 110 may be conveyed in the direction of the slicebase 110b or in the direction perpendicular to this.

Further, in all embodiments, clampers 216, 224, 234 and 256 are providedby twos, the second, third and fifth embodiments should not be limitedto this, one clamper may be arranged near the center.

And, in all embodiments, pushers 218, 226, 246 and 258 are provided bytwos, the present invention should not be limited to this, one pushermay be formed so as to cover the entire slice base 110b. In this case,as shown in the prior art, a guide for the pusher is needed in additionto the air cylinder.

Moreover, the explanation has been given of the case that the clampers216, 224, 234 and 256 and the pushers 218, 226, 246 and 258 are drivenby the air cylinder, however, another driving means may be acceptable.The slice base receiving plate 240 is also driven similarly.

It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limitthe invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, theinvention is to cover all modifications, alternate constructions andequivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A wafer slice base peeling system comprising:a clamp basefor receiving a substrate portion of a wafer; a clamper for fixing saidsubstrate portion to said clamp base; a pusher arranged near saidclamper at a side of a slice base, which is adhered to said substrateportion of said wafer, for pushing said slice base; a nozzle placedbetween said clamper and said pusher and provided with a blow-offopening to a boundary portion between said substrate portion and saidslice base; and, hot air generating means connected with said nozzle forgenerating hot air at a predetermined temperature.
 2. A wafer slice basepeeling system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said blow-off opening ofsaid nozzle is shaped in about the same shape as a boundary shapebetween said substrate portion of said wafer and said slice base.
 3. Awafer slice base peeling system as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidhot air generating means generates hot air at a temperature so as tosoften an adhesive for bonding said substrate portion of said wafer andsaid slice base.